Mary Black Rail Trail attracts townhome development

Tuesday

Feb 5, 2013 at 7:00 PM

A new residential project will bring modern, urban living to the Mary Black Rail Trail.

By TREVOR ANDERSONtrevor.anderson@shj.com

A new residential project will bring modern, urban living to the Mary Black Rail Trail.Local developer Andrew Babb will soon break ground on the 16-unit townhome community he is calling “314 South.”The development will be situated on a three-acre slice of property behind the new Pine Street YMCA and at the rear of an existing business park across Pine Street from the Converse Heights neighborhood.Each of the townhome units will be two stories and comprise over 1,200 square feet. They will include two bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, private outdoor patio space, tile flooring, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.Babb, a broker with NAI Earle Furman LLC, said he is working with the city to provide residents with rail trail access. He expects the project to be completed by the end of the year.“I'm very excited,” he said. “We've been looking at (this project) for a while… There's really nothing like it around here. The demand right now is that people aren't buying houses. They are renting.”Babb said the townhomes will most likely be rent-only at first, but they could be sold individually depending on customer interest. He said rent will probably range from $1,200 to $1,500 per month.Ample parking will be provided, but the spaces will be shared with the business park, which includes Babb's office, George Johnson Insurance Inc. and other businesses.Babb said Tara Hile of Spartanburg-based McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture designed the townhomes. Interior designer Sandra Cannon will give them a sleek, contemporary feel.Laura Ringo, executive director of Partners for Active Living, said she believes the project will benefit the rail trail as local leaders seek to improve the city's trail system.

“I think (the townhomes) will be a tremendous asset to the rail trail and the rail trail will be a tremendous asset to them,” Ringo said. “Having people live along the trail will hopefully help it continue to improve.”Ringo said her organization has partnered with a professor from Furman University to determine how often and for what purpose local residents use the trail. She said plans are in the works to magnify the scope of the trail and to possibly connect it with other walking paths in the area.“As we continue to build and expand and create more connections, I think the townhomes will benefit,” she said. “Having another connection near the townhomes will hopefully allow for an increase in the number of people who use the trail.”Babb is a well-known developer who has a number of local interests, particularly in downtown.He is part of a group that has invested $2.7 million to transform the century-old Oakman Glass building off Magnolia Street into the Magnolia Lofts apartments. That project is expected to be completed soon, Babb said, and he has already compiled a long waiting list of tenants who are eager to move in.He said he was keeping the townhome property for office space, but activity on the rail trail the new YMCA piqued his interest in doing something out of the box.Assistant City Manager Christ Story said local officials are behind Babb's townhome project and recognize the practicality of adding a connection to the rail trail from the development.“It's a really nice project,” Story said. “Being next to amenities like the rail trail and the new ‘Y' should make it real attractive to a lot of folks. It's a smart use of that location. We're glad that (Babb) is doing it and we appreciate this investment and the many others he's made here. And we're looking forward to what's next.”Babb said he is in the process of developing a website for 314 South.

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